Abstract
The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 presents unprecedented challenges around the world. Schools, hospitals, government offices, and even transportation (both domestic and international) were put to closure. While developed countries used their monetary and technology resources to support their education systems during this trying time, digital divide is widely evident in the developing countries, which has posed a threat to the fragile educational systems across these countries. This study aimed at exploring technology professional development available to faculty during COVID-19 in the developing countries. Findings revealed a critical issue of concern, as many developing countries in Africa were not able to keep up with the impact of pandemic, which rendered universities and colleges closed. In the few countries where they could keep open, several technology professional developments were provided to educators before and during the pandemic to prepare them to navigate through virtual/remote instruction.
TopStatement Of The Problem
Technology integration provides educators with ample opportunities to enhance a curriculum. Whenever there is access, technology shapes the way in which professional development is organized, planned, implemented, and evaluated (Spector, 2016). For example, for a remote learning environment, professional development should be geared toward training educators to be efficient in learning management systems for delivering content, conducting assessments, and communicating results to students. During the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities focused their attention and resources on providing educators with professional development in these areas.
COVID-19 has exacerbated the inequality in higher education (Saeed, 2020). Developing countries were faced with the difficult challenges of meeting the remote learning requirements due to underlying economic conditions, digital divide, and culture. While the problem in some developing African countries was financial, the problem in some developing Arab countries was cultural. According to Saeed (2020), some Arab countries faced significant challenges while transferring to online learning because of negative attitudes toward online learning in general, and the lack of stable internet connectivity. Similarly, developing countries in the Latin America and the “Caribbean are not equally prepared to tackle this crisis by capitalizing on digitization” (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2020).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD): A situation in which students are requested and allowed to bring and use their personal devices (technology) in class for learning purposes.
Technology Access: Availability of various technology resources that educators can use to enhance their teaching and help students’ learning. This involves access to both instructional and web-based technology.
Professional Learning Network (PLN): Groups created by educators based on common interests and or research ideas that involves teaching and learning from one another and sharing professional practice ideas regarding teaching and learning.
Technology Professional Development (TPD): Training in the form of workshops, seminars, and conferences that are geared toward developing educators’ technological competency for effective utilization for teacher and learning. TPD is organized by administrators, government ministries, educators, and professional organizations.
Technology adoption: The effective use of specific technology for a specific purpose to enhance teaching and learning.
Online Instruction: Educator providing content, assignments, and other course materials to students remotely or virtually, which involve the use of learning management systems (LMSs) and other mediums of communication (for example, email) for the purpose of teaching and learning.
Developing Countries: Countries that are behind economically, socially in comparison to other nations in the world and striving to become advanced in these aspects to address the 21st-century challenges they are facing.
Digital Divide: A gap in access to technology and technology recourses including Internet in and outside of school which affects students’ access to learning resources.